Day: December 11, 2020
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People Who Ordered Nemtsov Murder Found, Putin Says
A Kremlin-initiated investigation has found the individuals who ordered the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during a meeting of the presidential human rights council. Nemtsov, one of Putin’s most vocal critics, was shot and killed on a bridge near the Kremlin walls in February 2015. A gunman and…
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Gazprom Restarts Construction on Controversial Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
Construction work resumed Friday on the disputed Nord Stream 2 pipeline which is to bring Russian gas to Germany, the project’s managers said, despite protests from the United States. Work on the 10-billion-euro ($11 billion) pipeline had been suspended for nearly a year because of U.S. sanctions signed off by U.S. President Donald Trump in…
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Kaliningrad Named Top Emerging Tourist Destination – Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor has ranked Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as the No. 1 emerging tourism destination in the world for 2020. Sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, the Kaliningrad region’s German heritage and influence make it unique from Russia’s mainland and its Baltic coastline draws surfers, swimmers and sunbathers in the summer. The region’s capital, also named…
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Rosneft Representatives Participate in 10th “Arctic: Today and the Future” International Forum
Representatives of Rosneft Oil Company have participated in 10th “Arctic: Today and the Future” International Forum held in St. Petersburg.
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Russia Probes Mystery Seal Die-Off
Russian authorities said Friday they were investigating the mysterious death of nearly 300 endangered seals that had been discovered washed up on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Between Sunday and Thursday, 272 dead Caspian seals had been found at a number of locations in the southern region of Dagestan including its regional capital Makhachkala…
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Russia to Recruit Convicts to Clean Up Arctic Pollution
Russia plans to recruit prisoners sentenced to forced labor to clean up pollution in the Arctic, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday, citing Federal Prison Service (FSIN) official Elena Korobkova. The announcement follows a string of environmental incidents to hit the fast-warming region this year, most notably a massive fuel spill from a Norilsk…
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Suicide Bombing in Russia’s North Caucasus Injures 6
An alleged suicide bomber has attacked a security service building in the southern Russian republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, injuring at least six, news outlets and authorities reported Friday. Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) said the unidentified bomber detonated himself while authorities attempted to detain him in the village of Uchkeken some 1,500 kilometers south of Moscow.…
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Russia, AstraZeneca to Test Combined Coronavirus Vaccination
The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will partner with AstraZeneca to test in a clinical trial whether combining their jabs would boost immunity to Covid-19, the British drugmaker announced Friday. Russia’s state-run Gamaleya research center two weeks ago suggested trying the combined regimen with AstraZeneca, saying on Twitter it “may prove important for…
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Putin Backs Russian Human Rights Court Proposal
Russia should form its own human rights court, President Vladimir Putin said when asked by a council member on Thursday. Analysts have said the formation of such a court is likely a response to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which has ordered Russia to pay out millions of euros to plaintiffs for human…
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Russia’s Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 600 in One-Day Record
Russia reported a record 613 coronavirus deaths Friday as the country prepares to launch a mass vaccination drive by the end of the week. The previous one-day record stood at 589 fatalities on Dec. 2. The country’s total number of Covid-19 fatalities now stands at 45,893, according to the national pandemic response task force that…
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New Alliance Hopes to Raise Awareness of Arctic Environmental Crisis
Independent experts and journalists from Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland have formed a regional alliance to share information and publicize stories about environmental damage. The Barents Region Independent Environmental Society (BRIES), aims to create an international communications platform where specialists in the field of environmental protection can share their knowledge and up-to-date information with…
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Russian Military Slams Foreign Anti-Vaccine ‘Sabotage’
A foreign-funded campaign is being waged to discredit Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday as the country prepares a mass immunization drive. Spokesman Igor Konashenkov warned of “pseudo-analytical investigations” and “fake witness accounts” alleging the dangers of Sputnik V and mass refusals, including by Russian troops, to inoculate. “We know in…
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Russian Arctic Sailings Set 2020 Record
A record number of vessels have in 2020 sailed through Russia’s shipping lane in the rapidly melting Arctic known as the Northern Sea Route, Reuters has reported. The news agency said Norway’s Center for High North Logistics (CHNL) logistics foundation has recorded 62 full transit voyages through the Northern Sea Route as of Wednesday. Ships…